The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.
Rachel Lopez
Photography began as a side job that helped me to pay for my college tuition. At the time I was pursuing a career in the medical field and photography was supporting that career path financially but also satisfying my creative side. As I met more couples, booked more sessions and weddings, my business began to grow. Read more>>
Derene Derricotte
My professional journey has taken me through different chapters, but one thing has remained consistent: I have always enjoyed solving problems and helping people understand complicated information. Before entering the health insurance industry, I worked as an electrical engineer. That background taught me to be analytical, pay attention to detail, and approach problems methodically. Read more>>
Aly
Hello My name is Aly; i am the owner and operator of AlyCakes Custom. My story starts about 12 years ago, my kids (twins) were going to have their 2nd birthday, I couldn’t afford 2 cakes and i believe because they are 2 kids they should have their own cakes. Read more>>
Jordanna Spaulding
A New Jersey-licensed special education teacher with 24 years of experience, Jordanna began her career working directly with children across early childhood education, literacy, behavior support, individualized instruction, and play-based learning. Years of collaboration with occupational, physical, and speech therapists expanded that perspective, teaching her to look beyond a single skill or behavior and consider how communication, movement, regulation, environment, expectations, and relationships interact. Read more>>
Dana Wilson
Over 15 years ago I was working at the local prosecutors office and while on my lunch break I read an article in Family Circle about a woman in Chicago fitting women for bras with a mobile business. I thought, “How fascinating!”. No one in my area had been able to correctly fit me. Read more>>
Geoff Horn
I started tattooing in 2005 around the same time I graduate from Montclair State University. After working at the shop for years doing other tasks I had the opportunity to tattoo. A few years later I began to travel the world doing conventions and guest spots. Read more>>
Lisa Cleaver
When asked about my story, I always say that yoga found me early on, but it took a few turns to become my life’s focus. I grew up right here in New Jersey, and I was first introduced to yoga when I was eighteen at a local studio. Read more>>
Mark Pereira
“Can I do this?” That’s literally how The Union Sourdough Co. started. The first loaf of sourdough I ever tried to make was a complete failure. But I tried again, and the second loaf was one of the most delicious loaves of bread I had ever eaten. From that point on, I was hooked. Read more>>
Ramy Makary
Honestly, M&R Photo Factory started pretty organically. Maria and I have always had a passion for photography, and what started as something we really enjoyed doing slowly turned into something much bigger. In the beginning, we were just taking on shoots, learning, experimenting, and trying to get better with every session. We photographed families, engagements, babies, and eventually started doing more and more weddings. Read more>>
Lucas Ferreira
Hello guys. Well, my name is Lucas Ferreira, I live in Newton NJ for about 12 years now. I’m originally from Brazil and I came to the USA when I was 17 years old. My mother abandoned my sister and I to come to the US. While in brasil, I lived with aunts, uncles and grandparents. Read more>>
Lori Almeida
I grew up in Freehold and have memories of shopping with my mom at 2nd Turn Around consignment store. As I grew older I continued to shop and consign there. I loved the savings and the recycling aspect. Fast forward to having my own children. I consigned their gently used clothing and donated the items that I didn’t feel were appropriate for consignment. Read more>>
Mariana Borges
I’m Mariana, and I own Dogo Walking, a dog walking and cat sitting business serving parts of Morris County. I’m also a dog mom. In 2019, I rescued my dog, Dogo, when he was three months old. It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and it changed my life. I didn’t know back then, but that was the beginning of Dogo Walking. Read more>>
Michelle Gerber
I started the salon, Shear Serenity in June of 2013 with a handful of stylists and the hope of creating a space where everyone could genuinely enjoy their craft and put the client experience first. We originally focused on hair services and eventually over the year expanded to also include skincare and now head-spa and skincare services. Read more>>
Kimberly Trecozzi
Hi, my name is Kimberly, and I am the founder of Crystal Canvas Creations, a diamond art studio located in Whitehouse Station, NJ. I host guided workshops, birthday parties, private events, and create custom designs! I have loved crafting and art for as long as I can remember. I must have been at Michael’s every single weekend as a kid! Read more>>
Kathryn Rizzitello-Smith
My story is one that may seem like many others. I started doing photography as a child and had a focus on nature and animals, up until the point in my late teens that a friend asked for assistance in creating her makeup artist portfolio. Read more>>
Juliana Leschinsky
My road to a photography career was not direct or ever planned. My parents and I were immigrants from the Soviet Ukraine and we were the first in our family to come to America back in January 1980. I was just 6 years old. My mother, who was a doctor back in the Soviet Union, was determined to be one in the US. Read more>>
Alan Trombetsky
I’ve been cleaning carpets for over 20 years. I started out working for other people, learning the trade the hard way — on my knees, in real houses, with real messes. What I figured out early is that most people don’t actually care about the machine you roll through the door. Read more>>
Muhammad Zeshan
My journey did not start at Harvard, in a psychiatry clinic, or in a medical school. It started when I was a teenager working as a waiter in my father’s small restaurant in Pakistan. During my middle and high school years, I watched children my age and often younger drop out of school because of poverty. Read more>>
Jasmin Mitchell
I started LeChel Beauty in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 2018. Initially, it was born out of my obsession with lash extensions. I got my lashes done for the first time ever in 2016, and loved them so much I HAD to learn how to do them! Read more>>
Doctor Sahila
Hi, I’m Dr. Sahila. I came to America 25 years ago, became an Internal Medicine physician, and built the life I had dreamed of. Then everything changed. I watched my father suffer through heart and kidney failure, and my mother spend seven years in a vegetative state from brain cancer. I was their doctor. Read more>>
Brianna Sebasto
I’m Chef Brianna Sebasto, founder of Brianna’s Nutrition Kitchen. My love for food started long before BNK. I grew up with old-school Italian roots, where food was truly an expression of love, and some of my earliest memories are in my grandfather’s garden. Read more>>
Lasha Zosidze
Lux Wrap was established in July 2024 by my wife and me. We are proud to be a family-owned and operated business: I handle the installation work, while my wife manages the office and day-to-day operations. My journey as a wrap installer began in 2016 in Georgia, the country where I grew up. Read more>>
Steve Sola
They call me ‘The Mix King,’ but behind that title is over three decades of grit, late nights, and a deep obsession with quality sound. As a New York City audio engineer, mixer, and producer, I’ve had the privilege and honor of working and shaping music that has contributed to over 25 million records sold worldwide, spanning numerous gold and multi-platinum hits. Read more>>
Stephanie Petersen
I was born and raised in Bayonne, New Jersey, where I still live today. I earned an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education from Jersey City State University, followed by a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art Photography from The School of Visual Arts in New York City. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, I worked at various art and design jobs in Manhattan. Read more>>
Rutvik Katuri
I’ve always been drawn to color, culture, and the human form. Growing up between India and the U.S. gave me a front-row seat to two very different visual worlds, and looking back, that’s really where my eye began to take shape. I picked up a camera for the first time as a freshman in computer science engineering. It quickly turned into a genuine passion. Read more>>
Jessica Young
Rani and I met while helping to found a charter school in Buffalo, where we quickly realized we shared a love for working with children and families. As educators and parents, we wanted to create the kind of safe, welcoming space we wished we had when our own children were younger. Read more>>
Alka Sheladia
I started my healthcare journey working as a nurse on a medical-surgical floor. I learned so much during those years, but I also started noticing something that stayed with me. Read more>>
